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Death Wish II
Columbia Pictures CBS/Paramount Television Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | released = February 20, 1982 | runtime = 88 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $2 million | gross = $16,100,000 }} Death Wish II is a 1982 crime thriller directed by Michael Winner. It is the first of four sequels to the 1974 film Death Wish. In Death Wish II, architect Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) moves to Los Angeles with his daughter. After his daughter is murdered at the hands of several gang members, Kersey is once again forced to become a vigilante. Unlike the original, in which he hunts down every criminal he encounters, Kersey only pursues his family's attackers. The sequel makes a complete break from the Brian Garfield novels Death Wish and Death Sentence, redefining the Paul Kersey character. The sequel was produced by Cannon Films, which had purchased the rights to the Death Wish concept from Dino De Laurentiis. Cannon executive Menahem Golan planned to direct the film, but Winner returned on Bronson's insistence. The soundtrack was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page. Death Wish II was released in the United States in February 1982 by Filmways Pictures but like the original, Columbia Pictures handled the international release. Made on a $2 million budget, it earned $16.1 million during its domestic theatrical run. Plot A special report declares an increase of federal crimes in Los Angeles. At his new residence, Paul Kersey's maid, Rosario (Silvana Gallardo), is preparing dinner. He seems to have picked up the pieces of his New York life and moved on, now dating KABC news/radio reporter Geri Nichols (played by Bronson's real-life wife Jill Ireland). They go to pick up Kersey's daughter Carol from the hospital. Her doctor says that despite traumatic catatonia, Carol has begun to speak again. (Her husband, Jack Toby, not seen or mentioned, has presumably left Carol.) Paul, Geri, and Carol spend the afternoon at a carnival. While waiting in line for ice cream, Paul gets pick-pocketed by five gang members. He catches up with one who denies taking Paul's wallet. Geri heads to do an interview with a senator while Carol and Paul go on a boat ride. At the same time, the same five muggers that stole Kersey's wallet come to his house, where they break in and gang rape Rosario and wait for Kersey to arrive. When Paul arrives home with his daughter, he is beaten unconscious. Rosario tries to call the police, but Nirvana hits her with a crowbar, killing her. They kidnap Carol (for fear she will identify them) and take her with them to their hideout where Punkcut rapes her. Before Jiver can rape her next, she runs and jumps through a window, impaling herself on a railing. Paul regains consciousness as Geri arrives, where they find Rosario's body. When the police arrive, Lt. Mankewicz (Ben Frank) asks for help identifying the muggers. Paul learns about the death of his daughter. He's asked to view mug-shot photos at the station, but says, "There really isn't any use." After the funeral, Paul takes a handgun kept hidden in his closet. He uses a low-rent inner city apartment as a base of operations. The next night, he spots one of the muggers, Stomper, and follows him into an abandoned building as a drug deal is about to be made. Kersey kills one of the men, then orders the others out and proceeds to execute Stomper. The following night, patrolling the streets, he hears a scream from a man and a woman being assaulted by several muggers in a parking garage. One of the muggers is Jiver, the one Kersey chased the day of his daughter’s death. They force the woman into a van where Jiver and another mugger plan to rape her, but before they can, Kersey intercedes, killing 2 and wounding Jiver. Jiver is able to escape, but doesn't get very far because Paul follows the blood trail and kills him at a warehouse. The L.A. police hear about these murders, as does New York City's. Kersey falls under suspicion and Detective Frank Ochoa (Vincent Gardenia) is called by the LAPD to help. Fearing that Kersey, when caught, will reveal that the cops let him go instead of prosecuting, the NYPD sends Ochoa to make sure that does not happen. Ochoa meets with Lt. Mankewicz, who suspects Frank is hiding something. Ochoa breaks into Geri’s apartment. He tells her about Paul's past and present vigilante spree. Geri confronts Paul but he denies it, ascribing the tale to Ochoa's imagination. Paul drives Geri to work. Ochoa follows Kersey to a local square where Kersey spots the three remaining gang members who attacked him: Cutter (Laurence Fishburne), Punkcut (E. Lamont Johnson), and Nirvana (Thomas F. Duffy). Kersey follows the trio on a bus to an abandoned park, where a major drug deal goes down. Ochoa follows and decides to help Paul when the criminals are about to spot him. Ochoa is shot by a hail of gunfire by Nirvana. Paul manages to kill Cutter (who vainly tries to shield his head with a boom box). Punkcut is also severely wounded. Paul kills the getaway driver and seller of the firearms, who plummets off a cliff to a fiery doom below. The final mugger, Nirvana, gets away. Paul goes to Ochoa and asks why he saved his life. Ochoa felt it was better to side with Paul than the criminals. He tells Paul to kill one for him, then Ochoa dies as the police arrive. Paul flees. The police get the name of Ochoa’s killer from a badly injured Punkcut just before he dies. Paul later learns, from one of Geri's colleagues at KABC, that the police are preparing to a tactical unit to take down Nirvana. Paul also obtains a police scanner and begins monitoring the police radio traffic, and shortly finds out when and where the arrest of Nirvana is taking place. He goes to the same location to exact his own justice on Nirvana before the police can arrest him but he is not successful. Nirvana (real name Charles Wilson) runs when he sees the police approaching. He gets TASERed, but with no effect due to the influence of PCP. He is finally arrested after stabbing several officers and slashing Paul on the arm during a chase. Tried and found criminally insane, Wilson is sent to McLarren State Hospital. Geri and Paul visit, requesting an interview with Wilson, but are turned down. The visit allows Paul to steal a doctor's ID card. Paul proposes to Geri the next day and she accepts. That night, Paul uses his fake ID at the hospital and confronts Wilson. They have a violent fight and Kersey is stabbed repeatedly with a scalpel, but Kersey gains the upper hand when he ducks a punch and Wilson’s hand smashes through an electroshock machine. Kersey quickly turns the power on, which fatally electrocutes Wilson. Donald Kay (Charles Cyphers), an orderly on duty, witnesses Wilson’s death, but because he is aware that Wilson was part of the gang who raped and killed his daughter, he sympathizes with Kersey and gives him three minutes to escape before sounding the alarm. Geri goes to his apartment, where she finds a discarded scanned copy of the stolen ID near a wastebasket. Upon hearing a news report of Wilson’s death on the radio,she realizes that Paul really is the vigilante Ochoa claimed him to be. She places her engagement ring on the paper, packs her things into suitcases, and drives off. A few months later. Paul is seen speaking about a new architectural design. His boss Elliott Cass (Michael Prince) invites him to a party, and when Paul is asked if he's free, he answers: "What else would I be doing?" The next scene we see a shadowy figure walking in the night (presumably Kersey) continuing the hunt for more criminals. Cast *Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey *Jill Ireland as Geri Nichols *Vincent Gardenia as Frank Ochoa *J.D. Cannon as New York District Attorney *Anthony Franciosa as Herman Baldwin *Robin Sherwood as Carol Kersey *Laurence Fishburne III as Cutter *Charles Cyphers as Donald Kay *Ben Frank as Lt. Mankewicz *Michael Prince as Elliot Cass *Thomas F. Duffy as Charles Wilson aka Nirvana *Kevyn Major Howard as Stomper *Stuart K. Robinson as Jiver *E. Lamont Johnson as Punkcut *Silvana Gallardo as Rosario Score Isaac Hayes was recommended along with the producers of the film to compose the score; however, Michael Winner chose former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page (who was Winner's neighbour at the time). The opening credits bear Page's signature guitar tone, along with the heavy reverb-laden drum sound that he used with Led Zeppelin. The film's soundtrack was released in February 1982. Reception Death Wish II received mixed reviews from critics. Roger Ebert famously gave it zero stars, stating that it was a horrible film that sullied the legacy of the original 1974 film (which he gave a positive 3-star review on).Death Wish, Roger Ebert's Movie Reviews. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 29, 2012. Modern critics however, have praised the film for its action scenes. Death Wish II currently holds a 29% "Rotten" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.Death Wish II, Movie Reviews. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 29, 2012. The movie was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture. The movie earned $16,100,000 at the US box office, making a $2 million profit for Cannon films.Andrew Yule, Hollywood a Go-Go: The True Story of the Cannon Film Empire, Sphere Books, 1987 p24 References External links * * * A review Category:1982 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:1980s action films Category:American action thriller films Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Golan-Globus films Category:Sequel films Category:Films directed by Michael Winner Category:Rape and revenge films Category:Vigilante films